Preacher Season 2 Premiere Pays Tribute To Steve Dillon

06/25/2017 11:00 pm EDT

The premiere of the second season of Preacher concluded with a tribute frame reading "For Steve," honoring Steve Dillon.

Dillon met some of the stars of AMC's adaptation of his creation and Dominic Cooper and Joseph Gilgun shared some of what they remembered of Dillon while on set in New Orleans.

"We were very honored to have this time," Cooper says. "He was a lovely man and part of all this. We wouldn't be here without what he did. And that whole time we were in Los Angeles, in the hotel, he would be there chatting with us. I think we spent the entire night with him, one night. Just chatting and he was observing our chaos and carnage that was unfolding in one of our hotel rooms."

"I think he was very proud and very honored to see what his wonderful work had become and how it was going to reach more audiences and I think he liked our company as we did his," Cooper continues. "I think he enjoyed even us. Certainly watching the show, but seeing us, pretty much behaving as we do as the characters but in the social environment. It was nice to be around him, be near him. And they were such great friends, Garth and him. And to be around that history of friendship, as well. And to feel so excited that their work, after all this time of people trying to get it off the ground, was being realized. And I think that was wonderful to see."

"Me and Steve really shared a heart to heart," Gilgun recalls. "We're from a very similar place, me and Steve. And alcohol has affected our lives in very different ways, me and Steve. We had a chance to sit and have a real heart to heart. I really, really thought the world of him. We sat there at this bar at one point. I said, 'Steve, you know if you hadn't drawn Cassidy the way you had, I don't think I'd probably be here, would I?'He went, 'No, probably not.'"

"I loved my time with him," Gilgun continues. "His sense of humor, our sense of humor, where we're from, is a very dark one. I wasn't gonna like, mollycoddle this, him being ill at all. And he loved that, he enjoyed that. My time spent with him was really f***ing special. We got a night where we all spent the night, me, Dom, there's a couple of others. We all got bloody drunk and it was just remarkable. He's just a really special guy."

Dillon was the comic book artist who co-created Preacher with writer Garth Ennis. Dillon died in October 2016 at the age of 54 from complications due to a ruptured appendix.

MORE PREACHER NEWS: Season 2 Sneak Peeks Released / Preacher Season 2 Trailer / Exclusive: Preacher Season 2 Cassidy Key Art / Preacher Season 2 Teaser Trailer

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